Week 36- Boop?

We have made it! Technically, we can go forward. I can officially say, "any day now" and truly mean it. On one hand, that is so exciting- I have been ready for 4.5 weeks. On the other hand, I am getting nervous. Blayne was such a good baby, I am worried Em is going to be opposite!

I am just ready to meet my little princess.

When I was pregnant with Blayne, Kevin called him peanut. It wore me out! I was so worried that he was going to call him peanut until he graduated high school. Here I was imagining sitting in the baseball stands listening to my husband call out " WAY TO GO PEANUT!!!" I still cringe.

When Blayne arrived, the first thing Kevin said was, "I love you Boog." I can remember choking on my water and looking at him, "Boog??" Kevin couldn't explain where it came from, but it stuck. I catch myself calling Blayne boog all of the time. Jeez, Can you imagine us at that same baseball game? "GOOD CATCH BOOG!!!" He is going to KILL US.

I say that to explain this:

What are we going to call Emileigh? Her name is Emileigh Joann Taylor. I always wanted to name her Mattie Joann and was vetoed about 4 months ago. Kevin said it looked too old and just didn't like it. The name was important to me because Mattie was my grandmother's grandmother and Joann is my grandmother. I also wanted to shorten it and call her MJ.
Kevin fussed and I agreed to change her first name, but not her middle.

I am big on names, being named for a purpose. Blayne has my grandpa's name for his middle name. Big shoes to fill in my opinion.

Unfortunately, Kevin's family was full of men and his mother HATED her name. Irene Betty. Kevin assured me that if we named our baby girl either of those she would haunt us for the rest of our life.

So we thought and thought and fretted. Finally, one day while at work I came up with a couple of names, one of which was Emily.

Now, as much as I want names to be meaningful, I want them to be beautiful and original as well. You would understand if you grew up as a Jennifer. Trust me- there are bazillions of us.
As I was saying Emily Joann, I realized I had my MJ... It's now Em-J. :) SCORE.

My only hesitation was the commonness of the name. There are a LOT of little girls named Emily. How would I make my little girl, unique?

Then it hit me. Leigh. Leigh is one of the angels God placed in my life during a very turbulent time. My parents had just divorced, I just married Kevin (that was a good thing), my little brother and sister were being torn in a very ugly custody battle. My little sister was 14 and pregnant when I was told I would NEVER have biological children. My little sister's baby was born and died at 24 weeks. I started a new job, my mother died... I really could go on, but that hits the major points.

Leigh was the person who lived down the street and was available 24/7. I relied on her strength more than she will ever know. There were times I just sat and cried and she listened. There were times that I had some really stupid things to say, she never criticized and supported me 100%. She was the best thing that happened to me and I can honestly say, held me together for two years. She and Kevin. I always tell her that she is the female version of my husband, they are so much alike.

When I decided to name my baby girl Emileigh, it is truly to honor the friendship God gave me. It is the only way I can begin to thank her.

Okay- So now I have my baby girl officially named, what are we going to "call" her? Em-J comes out of my mouth now.... Baby girl is what her daddy calls her.

Usually nick names come out of the air, kinda like Boog did. We haven't put much thought in it and just decided to wait until something landed. A few nights ago, Kevin was telling me a story about his family. He never does this, so when he does I pay especially good attention. He was talking about his mother's friend coming by and telling them about some night crawlers (worms good for fishing) down the ally way and how when he was little he hated to touch worms as they reminded him of snakes. Apparently she came in the house and said, "Boop- there are a million worms down the way. You oughta send your boys down to get them." I stopped him mid-stream, "Boop?" It was confirmed. Kevin's mother (Betty) collected Betty Boop items. Hence- Boop. At that moment, my precious little Emileigh was renamed by her daddy. "Boop" after her grandmother Betty Taylor.

I have a feeling we won't be haunted by my mother in law... maybe my teenager in a few years...